Another blog that I've been dropping across now and again is On Becoming a Domestic and Laboratory Goddess... by Isis the Scientist. Blurb sez Isis is:

...a physiologist beginning a career at a major research university, I am working to establish my research while also being a domestic goddess. I have told students that it is possible to have both a career and a family. Now I just need to figure out how.

While I was standing at my poster, this hot-shot scientist walked by and I somehow found the courage to call out to him and ask him to come look at my poster. He walked over, stared at it over his glasses, and said with less than 2 minutes of consideration, "Your use of that technique to study that is bullshit. Everyone knows that you can't use that because there is no way to correct for unknown variable X" He continued walking and went about his business.

Dr. Isis has learned that some of the most important bonds and collaborations seem to be formed over cocktails and Dr. Isis has the liver of a 3 year old. Perhaps it is not so in all fields, but post-meeting shennanigans are typically where folks bond and, if Dr. Isis wants to be successful in this field, she needs to find a way to upregulate her liver alcohol dehydrogenase.

I like to be at work by 7am. I have found that if I do this, I can work for a few hours uninterrupted before my colleagues come in around 9:30. I have never understood people who can come in at 9:30 and leave at 4:30 and still get everything done. Perhaps these people work a lot at home, but I am not one of these people because I have a toddler at home. And work and a toddler are mutually exclusive. Plus, if I get to work really early, I get an amazing parking spot.

While I was standing at my poster, this hot-shot scientist walked by and I somehow found the courage to call out to him and ask him to come look at my poster.
As she goes on to say, this story is the exception, not the rule, and young researchers should pursue these opportunities. The bigshots are usually nicer on average than the faculty in your department back home.
Incidentally, does she realize that you can drink non-alcoholic beverages in a bar or cocktail hour? If she feels silly, she can always tell them she's an alcoholic. Truth is, not getting loaded at conferences isn't such a bad thing, especially if you're not a regular drinker.